Back Story:
The pop icon is one of my favorites, because of her music, fashion and extreme controversy within the media over the span of her career. Prior to the 2000s, Britney Spears’ big break came from Disney Channel on The Mickey Mouse Club alongside stars Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera (Bryant, accessed 2021). From a young age, Britney was always noticed and recognized for her talented voice. By 1999, Spears was getting a mass following after her hit single “...Baby One More Time” was released. Her life and career had already attained success, but the 2000s brought much more for Spears.
In the 2000s…
As the decade began, Britney’s career continued to grow, as she became an even bigger star and icon just within the year 2000. She released her second album Oops! ... I Did it Again which I always associate with the red, full-body suit worn in the music video for the song “Oops!... I Did it Again”. The album itself has over 24 million copies sold and maintained a charting record for 15 years for the number of sales in its release week (Corner, 2016).
Britney Spears started the decade in a relationship with Justin Timberlake, which lasted for around three years. The two are well-known for their dramatic relationship and breakup and its portrayal through the media at the time, as shown in The New York Times’ Framing Britney Spears. I always think of the denim on denim look worn by the couple in 2001. Timberlake and Spears split in 2002.
Also in 2002, Spears’ acted in her first lead role in a film titled Crossroads. The movie is a typical teen movie that brought more exposure to Britney as a celebrity, but the ratings were underwhelming. The film only has a 14% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Britney continued to grow as an artist and mature as a woman. She was no longer a child star and it showed as her fashion and life choices became edgier. There are too many well-known Britney moments to name, but one of my favorites from the early 2000s would have to be her performance of “I’m a Slave 4 u” featuring a live snake. Aside from this hit, “Toxic” was another success by Britney, which was released in the year 2003.
The fame continued, which came with drama, drama and more drama for Britney. The media was constantly noting and analyzing her each and every move. In 2005, Spears had already been married twice and was then pregnant with her first son. The press was present to catch moments such as her driving with her son on her lap in
2006 (Tannenbaum, 2011) which led many to
question Spears’ parenting style and personal decisions. Things ramped up as Britney Spears and Kevin Federline divorced in 2006 following the birth of their second son.
Aside from the controversy that surrounded Spears’ image and career, it did not stop her from releasing albums and topping charts. After her shaved head and umbrella moment in 2007, albums Blackout and Circus had both been released by 2008. Around the same time, Spears’ father became her conservator as she had lost custody of her children and spent time in a psych ward. These events are now much more understood and explained in recent events surrounding her conservatorship. Get the full story behind Spears’ conservatorship.
While Spears’ career is action-packed and very complicated, I was excited to write about her as I have nothing but respect for her as an individual and an artist. To read another piece that I have done on Britney, going further in detail about her history in the media and her conservatorship, read here!
References
Betancourt, B. (2021, November 2). Justin Timberlake wants the internet to forget about his double-denim moment with Britney Spears. Harper's BAZAAR. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a35394165/justin-timberlake-talks-double-denim-britney-spears-moment/.
Corner, L. (2019, January 7). Britney's oops! I did it again: 16 facts for 16 years. Digital Spy. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.digitalspy.com/music/a644808/britney-spears-oops-16-awesome-facts-to-celebrate-16-years/.
Crossroads. Rotten Tomatoes. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1112549-crossroads.
Hearon, S. (2021, December 2). Britney Spears' ups and downs over the years. Us Weekly. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/britney-spears-ups-and-downs-over-the-years/2008-2-7/.
IMDb.com. (n.d.). Britney Spears. IMDb. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005453/bio.
Tannenbaum, R. (2011, July 21). Timeline: Britney Spears' life of ups and downs. The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.jacksonville.com/story/entertainment/music/2011/07/21/timeline-britney-spears-life-ups-and-downs/987240007/.
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